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Old 03-07-2022, 01:25 PM   #1
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RV Repair Price Gouging

I need to find a reasonable repair shop in Southweastern Michigan around the Ann Arbor area. I took my 2019 Fleetwood Southwind 37F to a local shop to get misfire codes evaluated for what I know is a coil replacement, Sumo Spring installation (I have the parts), and my generator “bad rotor” error resolved which is covered on my Cornerstone warranty.

Guy comes back with $1500 for replacing 3 coils on 4, 7, and 8. Also quotes me $1500 for the Sumo Spring installation which on all accounts is a 3-4 hour job for an experienced technician. This shop has a guy who is meticulous and knows how to work on RVs, but he is doubling the hours required for the job which makes no sense. Their rate was told to be $185, but in the quote they bumped it to $196.

They haven’t even quoted the generator issue yet because they need to put at least 20 gallons of gas in the thing before working on it.

Am I being taken for a ride? I expected to be $1500 all-in on the springs and coil work. They want 2X.

Thanks,

Dean
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Old 03-07-2022, 01:47 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deanphil View Post
Also quotes me $1500 for the Sumo Spring installation which on all accounts is a 3-4 hour job for an experienced technician.
That does sound high! My local shop quoted me $560 (4 hrs) for the rear Sumos, which are the trickier ones to install.

I did the front ones, myself. They were incredibly simple to install -- took me about an hour. I'm sure an experienced tech could do them much faster.

So, yeah, their quote of 7.5 hours for the job seems excessive.
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Old 03-07-2022, 04:04 PM   #3
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The dealer from whom we purchased our rig charges $200/hour for their shop rate.


Tomorrow morning I'm taking my unit to a local truck shop to have the following items installed:


Roadmaster Rear Auxiliary Sway Bar
SuperSteer Rear Trac Bar
Safe-T-Plus Steering Control
Koni FSD Shocks (front and rear)
SuperSteer Radius Rods


Total for the hardware is $3.806.90
Labor is $1,564
Front end alignment is $434.40
Tax is $423.08
Grand total is $6,224.38


That's a lot of money to me, but I'm fine with doing it. I think I'm not being gouged because this shop has 20 bays in which to work on Class A, B, C, and your good old American semi-tractors. They know what they're doing, they have the proper facilities, tools, personnel, pay their taxes, and provide their employees with benefits. I want one belly button to push if something doesn't work.



I replaced the running boards on my wife's Jeep Wrangler (2-door) and guess what? You know those little bits of meat between the chicken ribs? I have little bits of meat between my ribs and they've never hurt so damn much in my life!



Yes, I know--someone will say, "You can do these upgrades, minus the alignment, yourself." No, I cannot because I live in a deed restricted community where working on one's vehicle is not permitted. Even if that weren't the case, our 37' Class A won't fit in the driveway. Finally, the county has an ordinance which prohibits parking on the street in residential developments. So I'd have to go rent or buy a place where I could work on the vehicle.
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Old 03-07-2022, 07:12 PM   #4
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Welcome to the Wonderful World of RV'ing.


It does not surprise me what they are quoting. They pretty much know when someone comes in for a quote it is because they don't have many options unless you are a DIY'er.



I do most of my own maintenance. If I didn't I probably couldn't afford to own my coach.
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Old 03-07-2022, 08:48 PM   #5
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I appreciate the Florida Flyer view, knowing the parts and labor cost and in short, ya don't want to do the work and are willing to pay. Fair enough. I've tried a mobile guy for things I was unsure of, and while he seemed to spend plenty of time his work was unprofessional and will end up needing fixed...so he bragged his rate was "only $100/hr" not worth it. Guess if you are going to get raked might as well pay for the professionals that guarantee the work. On another note I have several degrees and specialize in a highly sought after technical line of IT Security work and seems changing shocks and scraping roof goo is worth more lol.
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Old 03-07-2022, 08:58 PM   #6
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Part of the issue is that you appear to be shopping in Ann Arbor, the highest cost city in Michigan. I would look around in the downriver area or maybe out by Jackson, both of which are much lower cost of living than Ann Arbor. As to which shops to recommend, I'm unable to do this as I do my own work. Good luck.
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Old 03-08-2022, 05:43 PM   #7
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R V repair shops aren't the only rip off artist around. I took my Equinox to my local Florida FIRESTONE store for an oil & filter change and a tire rotation. I dropped it off at my appointment time of 10:30 AM and they didn't even start on it till 2:00 PM. Then they called me up and said I needed a cabin air filter and engine air filter for the DISCOUNTED price of $209.00. Having worked in the automotive industry for over 30 years, I knew about what the cost should be and it was no where near their DISCOUNTED price, I told them NO THANK YOU!! I went to Walmart and bought both filters for $40.00 and installed them in about 30 minutes.
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Old 03-08-2022, 06:06 PM   #8
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Why does it have to be an RV repair facility? A truck shop should be able to do the Sumos and the coils. We have Purcell Tire and Auto here and they work on big trucks and motor homes, I have them do all my wheel/tire/suspension work. I got gouged on 2 slide toppers and a crummy job to boot at the RV shop, I'm done with RV repair shops. I'll do everything I can myself and truck shop for the rest.
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Old 03-08-2022, 07:47 PM   #9
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Our local Speedco shop next to Loves truck stop will work on rvs. I had them do fluid and filter changes on our 1999 Fleetwood Discovery. I supplied the oil and all filters and they charged $140 labor to do everything including a chassis lube. That was both engine fuel filters, engine oil filter, generator oil filter. I did the air filter myself.
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Old 03-08-2022, 08:39 PM   #10
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Price doesn't seem unreasonable. Someone was just quoted an hour a piece for each for 10 shocks on Roadmaster chassis. I laid in gravel on cardboard 40f did four rears with hand tools in an 1-1.5hrs tops. I'm sure I spent some time looking around at stuff yo see how it works. I cheated and had can of Kriol I guess.
Others were quoted 4 times hrs it took a lone owner to swap Cummins cracked exhaust manifold that never did it before.
That discontinued $200 cabin filter scam really takes the cake . Was their wife going crochet one for it.
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Old 03-08-2022, 10:01 PM   #11
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The rear Sumo springs are more complex to install than the front. Last year I had front Sumo's installed at a trailer service shop for $170 (two hours). A couple months later I had the rear's installed at a Ford Truck Service center at a cost of $790. I supplied the Sumo Springs.
I'm not saying that was a good price, just what I was charged. The Ford dealer charged 5 hours for the rear. That was the first time they had installed Sumo's on an RV.
Thanks,
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Old 03-09-2022, 07:07 AM   #12
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My decision

I decided to have the guy install the springs since I don’t want to deal with the drilling and since he confirmed which coils I need to replace which I can easily do myself. I was planning $1500 all-in, so that covers it. Now he just needs to confirm the generator problem and I can submit a warranty claim on it. Appreciate all the feedback. It’s obvious he is gouging. I tried to find a truck shop, but can’t find one. The shop I picked is actually a car repair shop with 3 locations that has a specialty in RV at this location. All the Ford dealers say they take RVs but when you call they claim the website is wrong and Ford won’t fix it. It’s a pain. Regardless, if anyone has a shop ANYWHERE in SE Michigan please let me know now for future reference. Thanks.
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Old 03-09-2022, 07:34 AM   #13
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Wow, that’s a lot higher than the independent RV shop I use in San Antonio. My shop charges $150/hr, which I thought was high. I had them install all four Sumos… that I ordered online and brought into the shop for just under $600.

I know prices vary by region and locality (and I used to live in Lansing, so I know Michigan), but those rates sound sky high to me.

I bet you could get that work done in Jackson or Coldwater for a lot less. Maybe stop in Marshall for a meal at Schulers, too!
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Old 03-09-2022, 08:18 AM   #14
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Keep this in mind when dealing with truck shops, it might save you some aggravation AND some money. My local chassis shop does outstanding work and I take all of my vehicles, including my Country Coach to them for alignment and suspension work. The shop manager told me once that even though they work on many RV's they HATE THEM. Reason being, they are primarily a truck shop, their shop tends to be dirty (the floors are not like an operating room), they keep them as clean as possible, but it's the nature of the work. RV's are the opposite end of the spectrum, CLEAN--it's someone's home away from home. They put down mats and rugs but one dirty spot and some owner's lose their mind. If they have to send a Coach out to be cleaned, they have lost on the job and the customer is upset (this is a 4th generation family run business, it does upset them when customer's are upset). This may explain why some repair shop up charge for RV's, they are either spending extra time covering the interior to prevent stains or preparing for Just in case to cover for Clean up.

When I take mine in, I have a giant stack of old bath towels that I cover EVERYTHING in the driver's area with. If they get dirty, no harm. Just trying to make it a little easier on the guy turning wrenches.
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